Misadventures Interlude: Halloween
by Fusion-Corsair
Summary: Fresh off of taking residence at the homes of Markus X and Parsek, the Forces of Light must now survive the week until Halloween. Humor, rated T for obvious reasons. Completed!
1. The Restaurant

**_Well, with "Oh, Zap!" having been deleted(due to references to the Misadventures author in that universe, essentially making Misadventures a fanfic within a fanfic, though I guess the admins never got that), I thought I'd make a quick story involving the Kombatants living with Parsek and Markus X. The topic: their first Halloween. Hope you enjoy these next few chapters of_**** humor.**

**MARKUS X'S HOUSE**

**MILEENA'S POV**

It had been less than a week since myself, Skarlet, and the Protector of Earthrealm had first stayed at my boyfriend's house, and though there originally seemed to be very little for us to do other than making love, Markus seemed to have a surprise up his sleeve.

As he poured a box of sweet cereal into a bowl, my boyfriend looked up, a smile on his face. "I have some good news, babe."

"What would that be?"

He grinned. "It's only one week until my favorite holiday of the year, aside from Christmas."

"Which one?"

He raised a fist in the air. "HALLOWEEN! The one night where I can go out dressed in my armor and look normal!'

Making her way to the table, Skarlet stopped and turned to look at him. "What's Halloween?"

Entering the room, the god of thunder gave an answer. "Halloween is a holiday in which men and women dress in various costumes, go to late night parties, and typically visit various 'haunted attractions' in order to scare themselves. Why they do such masochistic things, I do not know."

I gave a quick Tarkatan grin before sinking my massive maw into the bowl of dry cereal. it was sweet and crunchy, a far cry from the human flesh I was used to sinking my teeth into during my time as Shao Kahn's daughter and loyal assassin.

"Mmmmmm... Tasty..."

"Anyways," Markus continued, "I was thinking we could go get some Asian food for lunch. There's a hibachi restaurant about a quarter mile away. We could all walk there, I suppose..."

"Sounds good to me," Skarlet responded. "I'm getting more used to digesting the food you guys have around here... Haven't needed a blood pack for a whole day.

"I would like to try some Asian food." My response was sincere. Outworld food and drink admittedly was poorer in quality than that of Earthrealm.

"While I do not need any physical sustenence, I believe a good walk would be quite calming." Raiden's response came off with an edge of superiority.

"Alright then... Sounds good to me. Get dressed, ladies and gentleman. Tonight, you eat at a restaurant."

* * *

**MARKUS X'S POV**

The four of us looked... somewhat normal as we walked down the street. I was wearing a grey nanotech collared shirt with khaki cargo shorts, while Mileena had gone for a magenta tube top. The only way anyone could tell that something was different about her was her irises, still a glimmering yellow. Skarlet likewise had her crimson irises, but they were easily ignored considering the halter top and black jean shorts she wore, and Raiden... He was still wearing his ordinary attire, but oddly enough, no one seemed to really notice as we entered the restaurant.

The waiter who escorted us to our seats was a kindly gentleman, with graying strands of hair forming a small beard below his chin. His features clearly showed him as being from Asia, though I'd yet to ask him where he was from.

"Right this way, please."

I turned back to the party. "This is Fujin. He owns the place. He and I have been tight ever since I fixed his deep-fryer that kept catching on fire."

Chuckling, the kindly old man responded. "Indeed he did. The only thing he has never done is give my machines a thorough cleaning. I see the burn marks every day."

Seating us at a table across from a family enjoying an outing, a family which had already been served, thankfully, Fujin gave a quick bow. "What can I get for you And your friends, Markus?"

"I'll take a water with lemon."

Skarlet had looked over the alcoholic beverages. "Does the Bloody Mary have real blood in it?"

Fujin raised an eyebrow before chuckling to himself. "No, Miss, but I believe it would be more enjoyable for you if you kept blood out of the equation."

Mileena gave her drink order next. "Sake, please."

Raiden's order itself was rather unorthodox. "White tea, please. The way I like it."

I was rather surprised at Fujin's response: instead of a short bow and a smile, he gave a deep bow that revealed no grin on his face as he went to get our drinks.

Turning back to the table, I looked at Raiden. "I've been going here for years and I've never seen Fujin do that before. What did you do to him?"

"I merely remind him of someone, Markus. That is all."

After a quick while, Fujin returned with two serving trays: drinks on one, soup and salad on the other. "Here you go. Now, what will you be ordering this fine afternoon?"

"I'll take my usual Shrimp and Scallops. Mileena?"

My girlfriend raised a hand to her chin. "Steak. Medium rare, please."

Skarlet gave a small smile before ordering herself. "I'll take what Markus is having."

Raiden was assumedly going to order, but instead, he simply nodded at Fujin, who responded in kind as he left the table once again. I looked in befuddlement at the thunder god, not getting it.

"Um... Is there something important I'm missing?"

If I didn't know any better, I'd have sworn I saw a smile on his face...

* * *

**SKARLET'S POV**

I began to drink in the soup as we began to eat our appetizers. The food here was good, if a bit tangy.

After a while, the chef who was cooking our meal came out. Dressed in a black chef's outfit, he wore a yellow apron as he looked at us, a distinct glimmer in his eye.

"Greetings to all of you... My name is Jubei Hanzo Hasashi, simply Jubei to my friends, and I am glad to be able to cook for all of you today."

Quickly reconfirming our orders, I couldn't help but notice that Mileena had a certain look at him that I couldn't really explain.

"I once had an ex-boyfriend whose name was Hanzo."

The chef turned and looked at the ruler of Outworld. "Interesting..."

With ninja-like precision, Jubei began to twirl his spatula-like cooking utensils around, clearly to demonstrate his excellent sense of awareness. However, what Mileena did next was something I knew he did not expect.

With a lightning-fast movement, Mileena grabbed the handle of one of the spatulas and pulled it away from the chef as it rotated around his arm. I heard Markus gasp, his eyes wide open as he stared at both Jubei and Mileena, who were both staring at one another as well.

"You have excellent reflexes." Jubei gave a respectful nod.

"You're not so bad yourself." I detected a distinctly sultry tone in Mileena's voice as she said that, Jubei gently grabbing the spatula from her hands as he began to cook the food.

Over the next fifteen minutes, lunch was served to us, one course after another. This being my first experience at an Asian restaurant, I quickly scarfed down the food, enjoying every last sliver of it. Scrubbing the grill clean, Jubei gave us a bow before returning to the back of the restaurant.

"Well... That was interesting." Markus breathed a sigh of relief. "For a moment there, I thought our cover was going to be blown."

Mileena gave a sigh as she brought her hand to her cheek, leaning on it as she smiled. "Jubei reminds me so much of Scorpion... If only he was not employed here. I would gladly bring him back to Outworld and train him to be a warrior."

"He's new here," Markus noticed. "I've been coming here long enough to know the various chefs, and I've never seen Jubei before. Something isn't right here..." The Earthrealm warrior turned to Raiden. "...and I think he knows something about this that we don't."

The thunder god turned to look at Markus. "Indeed I do, but you will have to wait before the truth is revealed to you..."


	2. The Dojo

**PARSEK'S POV**

It was time to teach my weekday karate class, and as was expected, I simply had to bring the others along with me. Atraya sat in the passenger seat of my van, with Liu Kang squished between Kitana and Jade in the middle seat, and Kai likewise with Serina and Glace in the back. I was feeling a distinct emotion that I had never felt before on my way to teach my mostly same-aged students.

Fear.

Considering that I was in the car with people who'd trained harder and in more fields of martial arts than myself, I was notably worried that my teaching techniques would be frowned upon by the others, Liu Kang specifically.

"I am most eager to see what you have been training these future kombatants, Parsek."

Finding a parking spot, I turned back to the Shaolin monk. "I'm merely here to teach them the basics. If they want to find specialized training in specific martial arts, there's teachers who will gladly train them."

Though he showed no emotion, I felt as though Liu Kang was frowning. "Martial arts will never be taken as seriously in America as in my homeland..."

Kai turned to him. "Master, we could always offer our training abilities to Parsek, help him increase the skills of his students."

"It is ultimately Parsek's decision, Kai."

I sighed... With all that Liu Kang had gone through, did I really want to decline his offer of assistance? Thinking that I could possibly get a moment to relax, I nodded. "Alright, Liu... If you and the others want to train my students, then be my guest."

His lips didn't curl upwards, nor did his voice change in pitch, but I could see a clear gleam of happiness on Liu Kang's face. It was a rare moment for him, I assumed...

Stepping out, the six of us stepped towards the dojo. I was wearing my karategi and my black belt, while Liu Kang wore a red tank top, black pants, and a red headband. Kai wore a black tank top and shorts, exemplifying his tiger stripe tattoos, while the ladies wore what would be considered "summer clothing." Serina was dressed in a black tee and nylons, while Kitana and Jade both wore tank tops with a decent v-cut in them, the same color of their regular attire, as well as the short shorts. They also both wore their masks, as did Glace, though she merely wore a white tube top and what appeared to be heavily bleached cargo shorts.

It was nearing time for the class to start, and as such, I began to pull out training mats, dummies, and sparring gear For the students to use...

* * *

**LIU KANG'S POV**

So, these were the instruments used by American martial artists to teach their students? Aside from the sparring gear, the majority of the equipment merely appeared to be modernized versions of the wooden dummies and straw mats we utilized in China.

Taking a seat on the carpeted floor, I crossed my legs and began to meditate, sensing Kai sit down as well. The women stood against the wall as the students began to enter.

Bowing to the head of the class, as was tradition, the students lined up before Parsek began to speak to them.

"Alright, class... Today, we'll be focusing primarily on sparring, but before we do, I'd like to introduce several of my friends to you. They'ill be helping out during this class.

Motioning towards myself and Kai, the two of us quickly stood up.

"This is Liu Kang and his student, Kai. Both of them come from the Shaolin order of warrior monks."

As a sign of honor, we bowed to the class. Several bowed back, but others stood there in shock and silence.

"They will be demonstrating... Wait, what ARE you guys going to demonstrate?"

I merely gave a radiant stare, my equivalent of a smile as I immediately guessed what I should teach.

"A personal favorite of mine... The bicycle kick."

* * *

**GLACE'S POV**

I was... Impressed to say the least. Being an elementalist with the ability to create and control snow, I had not the slightest clue of how to do the bicycle kick Liu Kang had done. I was simply thankful that I could teleport and strike with my rock hard, snow-covered fists.

As the demonstration ended, I couldn't help but applaud. I evidently wasn't the only person thinking that way, however... All but one member of the class did the same.

"Aw, come on..."

The rest of the class stopped and looked at the young man. He could barely have been an adult... With his child-like face, brown hair, and agitating demeanor, he seemed to be another 'pretty boy,' believing that looks and charm could allow you to glide through life.

"This is clearly a gimmick... These guys are actors. They aren't real Shaolin monks. They're using special effects to do this stuff."

Unable to resist, Jade gave the arrogant youth a rightful response. "Please... Liu Kang could easily kill you in a heartbeat. Even I could leave you on the floor, begging for mercy."

The young man seemed incensed. "Is that a challenge, lady?"

Tearing the mask from her face, the Edenian bodyguard smiled. "Test your luck with me."

Stepping forward, the two fighters began to circle one another on the mat.

"I am Jade... What is your name?"

The boy smirked. "Justin. Justin Bayver."

Jade gave a small smirk before teleporting behind Justin and causing her staff to appear, it being lifted up until it slammed into his genitals. I could only assume that he was in too much pain to scream as Jade again slammed the staff into him, this time shoving it into his back. Falling forwards, Justin curled up in the fetal position for a moment before lying flat on his back.

"Good boy! You must keep your eyes open, Justin, to anticipate the finishing blow."

"What are you tal..."

Before he could finish, Jade slammed her boot onto Justin's face.

"You make it too easy..."

Looking around the room, I noticed the shocked look on the face of Parsek as he tried to sputter out a response. "Well... Anyone else want to go a round with Jade?"

The hands, if there were any that remained up, immediately went as far towards the floor as they could go. After what had just happened, no one wanted to deal with the bodyguard, sparring protection or not.

"Okay then... Back to work, everyone!"

* * *

**JADE'S POV**

As the day went on, I was both happy and frustrated. The students were having trouble learning our more complicated moves, but fortunately, by the end of the day, a couple of them had succeeded in performing our more basic moves. Liu Kang was right: Americans would never treat the martial arts with same level of seriousness as Asians, Outworlders, or Edenians.

As I got back in the car, I could barely stop myself from exploding, expressing with deep amounts of seething hatred how much I despised the lack of ability that Parsek's students had. However, I could not help but mention my displeasure, even if it was not wrathful.

"With no offense, Parsek, I was truly disgusted with the quality of your students. They are such poor fighters that Tanya could defeat them, and I say that as a mortal enemy of that vile woman..."

Looking back at me as he started the car up, Parsek frowned. "Jade, I know that where you come from, this is important business, and everyone knows how to fight, but here, it's more peaceful. My students practice martial arts because they like it, yes, but they aren't expecting to be ambushed by blade-armed Tarkatans, tiger Shokans, or angry Centaurs any time soon."

Though I was still frustrated with his students' ability to fight, he did have a point. Earthrealm was not under constant threat of invasion, thus not everyone was required to have some form of training as a warrior.

"I apologize for my brashness, Parsek... I shouldn't have been so harsh to you merely because I felt your students' training was inadequate."

"It's okay, Jade... You just haven't gotten over the culture shock yet, I guess." He paused for a moment. "I do appreciate what you did to Justin though. That dude's been asking to get beat for quite some time."

I unknowingly blushed as he accepted my apology holding his hand out for myself to shake. I did so, leaning back in my seat as we headed home...


	3. The Lazy Day

**SKARLET'S POV**

I relaxed as myself and Mileena laid down face-first on the padded tables.

"Markus, are you sure that this'll be as good as you say it is?"

The Earthrealm warrior merely nodded, gently pouring some warm water over my clothless body as I began to relax. Because of the techniques he used to massage people, such as hot rocks, he felt that warm water would help prevent him from dehydrating me should the rocks stay on me for an extended period of time.

Gently, my teacher placed a pair of fist-sized rocks, nice and warm, only back before kneading them against my flesh. I couldn't help but turn bloody inside, savoring the feeling of warmth and force against me. He paid special attention to the area around my shoulder blades, claiming that the best stress relief could be provided there.

As he placed the rocks onto a warm washcloth, leaving it to warm my upper spine, he transferred his attention to Mileena, his wet thumbs pressing down at the base of her ribs. I heard a series of cracks and quickly looked over at the couple, only to have my mind read.

"She's okay... Just her back cracking back into place. Been forever since she's been looked at... I would look at you, but I'm guessing your spine's realigned every time you reform yourself."

With a nod, he returned to focusing on me, his elbow ready to go down on my flesh with such force that I thought he'd rip right through me. As he pressed down, my insides vaporized, causing his elbow to go all the way to where he could feel the table beneath him.

"No need to go dough, girl."

"Don't put me in your over any time soon, Mister Baker!"

Both of us laughed as I got up, feeling refreshed as Markus continued to work with Mileena's back. Getting my clothes on,I stepped into the living room, expecting to find Raiden sitting on the couch, as usual...

"Raiden? Raiden? Where are you, Raiden?"

* * *

**RAIDEN'S POV**

I had returned to the Asian restaurant myself and the others had gone to. It was past closing time, but I still expected for the pair of comrades to be there.

"Looking for us?"

A brisk wind blew behind me as the cyclone of air dissipated. As I looked, the god of wind himself was standing there, along with Jubei, the chef who had served us our meals.

"This must be important for me to receive your company at so late an hour. What is so desperate that I must get involved?"

The wind god's words did have merit. Unlike myself, he rarely found himself involved in conflicts. The last time he had fought anyone was during his defeat at the hands of the original Sub-Zero.

"I have come to gain the assistance of you and your emissary in the war against Shinnok The Netherrealm threatens invasion of my realm, a mad Elder God at their helm. Should I not choose to gather my allies as soon as I can for the inevitable battle?"

Before Fujin could respond, Jubei interrupted himself into our conversation.

"The Netherrealm? Where my father's soul resides?"

The young Oriental gave me a salute that I knew came from only one clan of assassins: the Shirai Ryu.

"If my father is there, I shall endeavour to find him and return him and my mother to the world of the living. Quan Chi will pay for the massacre of my family!"

I put a hand on the shoulder of the chef. He was very similar to his father in most regards.

"Patience, Jubei. You will get your opportunity for vengeance soon enough." I turned back to Fujin. "Quan Chi claimed that the Netherrealm would begin its invasion of Earthrealm within the end of the year. If you wish to help keep the realm intact, then join myself and the Forces of Light in our battle against Shinnok and the Forces of Darkness."

While I already knew that Jubei would be coming with us regardless of what Fujin's decision was, I still chose to wait for the wind god to make his decision.

"Very well, Raiden. I and Jubei shall join you in the battle against evil."

The young man's smile exploded into an enormous grin as he relished the call of battle. I, meanwhile, gave Fujin brief instructions.

"You and Jubei shall stay at the Special Firces headquarters until such time as we reorganize. When that happens... I merely hope you will both be ready."

My dialogue with the pair completed, I teleported back to Markus X's house. Were I forced to explain where I had gone, I would give truthful answers...

* * *

**MARKUS X'S POV**

I was miffed. Heck, I was plainly ticked off. Raiden goes off to who knows where and doesn't even leave a trace of where he went off to?

As Raiden reappeared in my living room, I was the first person to look at him, arms crossed with an angry look in my eye.

"I assume you wish to know where I vanished off to."

I facepalmed. I hated when someone stated the obvious...

"Yeah, isn't that obvious? Where'd you head off to all of a sudden?"

"I was speaking with more allies of ours, people you may recognize."

Before he even said anything else, my mind added two and two together. "It has something to do with Fijin and that Jubei guy, doesn't it?"

Mileena entered the room, sitting down on the couch as we listened to Raiden.

"You are correct, Markus. Fujin is the god of wind, and a spiritual brother of mine so far as the gods go. Jubei, on the other hand, is the son of legendary Shirai Ryu assassin Hanzo Hasashi, better known to all of you as Scorpion."

I gasped, then began to chuckle. "So, who thinks the dude'll hold it against me for helping get his dad run over by a subway car?"

No one laughed except for me, and as such I quickly shut myself up.

"A question, thunder god..." Mileena found herself intervening in this conversation. "I have known Scorpion for some time now. Isn't his family and clan dead?"

"You are correct, Mileena, but the souls of the dead Shirai Ryu, young and old, still remain at the site. Fujin merely had to find a body before transferring Jubei's soul into it."

"What are we talking here? Possession?" I was starting to get a bit weirded out by whatever Raiden was going on about.

"Perhaps he took a recently impregnated woman to the ruins of the clan's base and allowed the soul to enter the body of the unborn child. I do not sincerely know. Perhaps you can ask Fujin yourself later this year."

"Yeah, okay, whatever..." My mind was focused on something else much bigger than that. "I got the pool and jacuzzi heated up. Who wants to call Parsek and company over so we can have a little swim and get together?"

My girlfriend gave me a sultry smile. "I would rather do something else with you..."

"On second thought, let's do that tomorrow. I have too much business to attend to right now..."

Heading to the bedroom, I was already formulating in my head what Mileena and I would be doing this evening, and regardless of how unorthodox it may have been, it was still quite sexy...


	4. The Pool Party

**SKARLET'S POV**

I couldn't help but grin as I leaned back against the jets of the hot tub, a Bloody Mary in my hand. The party was in full swing, everyone relaxing and having a good time. I caught a glimpse of Mileena, her magenta monokini very visible as she talked with Markus and Parsek, both of whom were wearing simple swimshorts: green in Markus's case and white for Parsek.

I gave a quick shudder as the water was distorted, someone getting in. I quickly noticed the persons: Kitana, wearing a backless blue one-piece that hugged her body rather tightly, and Jade, wearing what could best be described as a sort of "sling bikini."

"I appreciate your master having brought us over for this party, Skarlet."

Jade again tried to dissuade the Edenian from going down this road of conversation. "Kitana, please. Turn back. Markus X is not Skarlet's master, but her friend."

"I understand, Jade, but still..."

Before the princess could continue to dig herself into a hole she wouldn't get out of, I interrupted. "Could we maybe talk about something a bit more enjoyable? Markus is doing karaoke!"

The three of us turned our attention across the pool, ignoring the game of volleyball that Glace and Serina were playing against Liu Kang and Kai as we looked under the pavilion, where Markus was singing a song for Mileena, one I had found out was quite popular...

"Baby, baby, baby, oh! Thought you'd always be mine, mine!"

The Empress of Outworld gave a Tarkatan grin at her boyfriend. "That was amazing! You sang that song much better than the original singer."

"Meh. Anyone can sing better than Bieber. At least now he doesn't sound like a prepubescent boy anymore. Thank God for that"

Jade turned back to us. "Bieber? I thought I taught him a lesson two days ago..."

"No, no, Jade, that was Bayver, not Bieber. There's a difference... You should drink less and let me drink more."

"Never! I must drink this wine and spirits to prevent someone from poisoning you!"

"Aw... I love you, Jade..."

I could tell that the two of them were getting drunk.

"Maybe you two should admit your undying love for each other by making out!"

Johnny Cage smiled before laughing as the two Edenians lip-locked, his iPhone out as he recorded everything. "Oh yeah, now that's more like it..."

* * *

**ATRAYA'S POV**

I wondered why Earthrealmers threw such virulent parties, and I had yet to find an answer. The dozen or so kombatants that were currently partying were doing nothing but getting drunk and found stupid things. I watched as Johnny Cage began to record Jade and Kitana kissing, something I knew the Edenians would regret in the morning.

Raiden came to me, bowing as he did so. "I believe there are two more who could be adequately accompanied at this party. With your permission, I would like to retrieve them."

I knew who he was referring to. "Very well. Please go on your way."

Raiden again bowed before teleporting. I was now stuck with the rest of the drunk and rowdy warriors as they continued to party the night away...

After dealing with Johnny Cage, attempting to outperform him in this karaoke contest, Markus came over to me with a glass filled with alcohol. "Come on, Atraya... Try some. Peach bourbon. It's a southern specialty."

Effortlessly, I took the glass, raised it to my lips, and consumed all the burning liquid, not breaking a sweat. "That was somewhat refreshing..."

Markus's jaw dropped. "You should frequent some of the bars around here. You'd make a lot of money from the bets guys'd put on you for being unable to dink."

I looked at him with a primarily unemotional face. "I am an Elder Goddess. I have no need of money."

The Earthrealm warrior shrugged. "Suit yourself..." He then jumped into the pool, yelling to get the attention of all the kombatants.

"YO! Who's up for some chicken fights?"

The guys smiled as the women looked a bit confused, aside from Skarlet. I myself knew what a 'chicken fight' was, though I had never partaken in such a thing. As the women gathered around the pool, Markus quickly explained the rules of the game.

"Alright... So a girl gets on a guy's shoulders and tries to push the other girls off their guys' shoulders using any means necessary. The last girl on her man's shoulders wins."

Kitana obviously picked Liu Kang, and Markus obviously picked Mileena. The other pairings were seemingly random: Serina and Parsek, Skarlet and Johnny Cage, and Jade and Kai. It seemed as though Glace had been left out of the equation, when the crackle of lightning signaled the return of the thunder god.

With him were Fujin, the god of wind, and a young man who bore a resemblance to one of Shao Kahn's warriors. Wearing yellow swim trunks with black outlines, he dove in, scooping the snow ninja up on his shoulders, he raised a fist in the air, a smile clearly visible on his face.

"Let's win this!"

* * *

**MARKUS X'S POV**

I stepped towards Liu Kang as Mileena and Kitana began to struggle with one another. I trie to wait for my girlfriend to get a grip on her 'sister' so I could pull back, but it seemed like all the two of them wanted to do was fight.

"Uptight princess!"

"Ugly wench!"

"At least I have an intelligent boyfriend!"

"Is he Mortal Kombat champion? No? Okay then... Be quiet!"

"He could have been the champion had he been introduced into the first tournament!"

"Silence, you pathetic copy..."

"Why you arrogant hooker..."

I smiled. Apparently she remembered what I had called Kitana a while back, before we all kissed and made up. Not wanting to wait any longer, I swiftly took my foot and pulled the Shaolin monk's legs out from under him, causing the two to fall back-first into the water as myself and Mileena cheered.

We hadn't won yet, though... Jubei and Glace had taken out the other two pairings, leaving us as the final pairs standing. I walked over, standing as the two women began to struggle. Right when it seemed as though Mileena was going to fall off my shoulders, she did something quite amazing.

Leaning forward, she evidently intended to kiss the snow ninja, but before she did, her mouth changed to her Tarkatan visage. Startled, Glace lost her balance and fell back, taking the chef with her.

"Yeah!" I pumped my fists in the air. "We did it!"

As I did so, Mileena flew forward, over my head and into the water as I got involuntarily dunked. Getting up and turning around, the two of us saw a pair of figures fade into view: Khameleon and Reptile.

"Are we too late to enjoy the fessssstivitiesssss?"

I chuckled as the female Saurian dismounted from her male counterpart. "Actually, you won."

The still mostly intoxicated crowd of kombatants clapped, applauding the two reptilian humanoids' victory. Not knowing what to do, they bowed before getting out of the water.

"Curssssse thisssss water... I am a reptile, not an amphibian!"


	5. The Scare 'N Shop

**SKARLET'S POV**

It was only two days until Halloween, and I had been waiting for the right time to tell Markus something desperately important. There he stood, talking with Mileena and Raiden about how interesting last night was. As their conversation ended, I took the opportunity and ran with it...

"Markus? Could I talk with you for a bit?"

The Earthrealm warrior smiled. It almost broke my heart that I had to tell him... "Sure thing."

He motioned towards a hallway where we stepped over to. "Alright... What's up?"

I grinned, trying to seem enthusiastic about the whole thing. "Well... You remember how a few nights ago, you, me, and Mileena had some explicit fun in the bedroom?"

"Uh huh..."

"Well, I haven't exactly felt that good since."

His face began to contort into a confused look. It was time to deliver the punchline...

"Markus, I'm pregnant."

I watched as his eyes glazed over, his mouth wide with horror as he froze in place. From the kitchen, the sound of a broken dish resonated through the hallway. Apparently, Markus's mind was shattering into a million pieces as well.

"My apologies, Markus X! Myself and Mileena will clean the broken plate up shortly."

His response to Raiden's apology was simple: he screamed at the top of his lungs, running in circles around the coffee table as he flapped his arms like a duck. I couldn't help but give a snicker that soon exploded into full-fledged laughter as the other two kombatants joined us.

"Man, you should've seen the look on your face when I told you, Markus!"

My goading only made Markus run faster, flap harder, and scream louder. Raiden came next to me, a frown on his face.

"What did you do to make Markus act this way, Skarlet?"

I gave a haughty laugh. "Oh, nothing... Just told him I was pregnant."

Mileena's boyfriend stopped his mad rambling long enough to turn to me in frustration. "HOW? YOU'RE A BLOOD-BASED BEING! YOU CAN'T GET PREGNANT!"

"Exactly. I was joking with you. Gods, I didn't think you'd overreact like this..."

Markus suddenly went from being as livid as a rabid Tormentor to as quiet as a giant tarantula. "Excuse me... I need to go recover from the HEART ATTACK you just gave me."

Relaxing, Markus began to walk like a zombie to his bedroom before loudly shutting the door behind him.

Turning back around to the other two, I felt a hand slap me across the face.

"Never do that again, Skarlet! The next time you 'pull a stunt' like that, I will feed you to my pet blood beetles!"

I frowned. "Look, I'm sorry about that... I just didn't think he'd have a full scale mental breakdown. I won't do it again, mistress."

* * *

**MILEENA'S POV**

With a push on the door, I entered Markus's bedroom. He was lying down, face-first I the bed, motionless. "What do you want?"

I smiled. "That is no way to talk to your future wife..."

He rolled over and sat up, his shirt ruffled from the time he spend regaining his mental faculties. "I'm sorry, babe... I'm just really miffed at Skarlet right now. Where'd she get the idea that a pregnancy hoax was funny?"

"It does not matter... She has promised to not do it again. But I actually came here for a similar reason."

His muscles tensed as he looked at me. "Don't tell me... You actually are pregnant?"

I laughed. "No. Being created by Shang Tsung's sorcery, I am, unfortunately, sterile. Hence why I wanted to talk with you about children and heirs."

He himself began to crack a smile. "Well, I dunno... I'm only gonna live for a good seventy, eighty years or so. Even if we tried in-vitro fertilization or some form of genetic engineering, your Edenian genes would mean that I'd be outlived by my own kids. And although having my own little army of mini-Barakas sounds nice, I'd rather not try something in that vein."

I tried to envision us having three children. All with Tarkatan teeth. The thought of it made me laugh. "You are right... We can wait until much later to talk about kids."

"Hey, there's always adoption."

I pondered that option for a moment before getting up and leaving Markus to himself again. "Perhaps..."

* * *

**MARKUS X'S POV**

Well... Now that the whole pregnancy scare was over, I needed to get some candy for the inevitable trick-or-treaters. The last time I didn't have any ready for them, they teepeed my front yard so badly that I had to roast it with a flamethrower, burning down the tree in my front yard in the process. I was not going to let that happen again...

My mind clear, I stepped back into the living room. Skarlet and Mileena were helping themselves to a bag of chips and some cans of Coke in my fridge, while Raiden merely sat on the couch watching Jeopardy.

"Alright, so who wants to come with me to the store to get some candy?"

Two hands immediately went up as Raiden ignored me, continuing to write down the questions and answers to the various questions Alex Trebek was giving the contestants.

"Fine then, be that way, Raiden..." I motioned to the two ladies as we got in the car and reached the store.

Heading in, I immediately rushed down to the candy aisle, all sorts of various confections packaged in bags by the pound. Loading Mileena and Skarlet up with the bags, I stepped forward a moment before stopping.

"Wait... Skarlet, can you maybe turn into a shopping cart? It would make this much easier..."

"I would, but I don't have anything to prick myself with."

"Blast... Oh well then."

Stepping up to the cashier, I paid with my debit card, or more adequately, the Special Forces' debit card I'd gotten from Sonya. All the while, I couldn't help but notice that the cashier was gawking at my girlfriend and her bodyguard...

"Could you maybe hurry up? My girlfriend and I need to get home before our guests do something stupid..."

The cashier, a six foot three man with muscles that made him look like a football player, merely smirked. "That fine piece of ass is yours? Like hell she is." He turned to Mileena, who oddly enough was still wearing her mask. "Hey, baby, you need to give me your number. You'll have some real fun with me..."

Before I could smack the guy across the face, Mileena handled the situation. "Care for a quick kiss then?" Ripping her mask off, she revealed her mammoth maw with rows of sharp, knife-like teeth.

I could've sworn that the guy took a dump in his pants as she stared at him before screaming and running to the nearest breakroom. No one else seemed to really notice Mileena, however... They were too busy staring at the guy as he ran away, giving her time to put the mask back on. Thankfully, I'd already gotten my receipt...

"You should do that more often."

My girlfriend smiled, a twinkle in her eye as myself, Skarlet, and Mileena made our way back to the car. I guess being part-Tarkatan did have one advantage for Mileena: it stopped jackwagons like the cashier from hitting on her...


	6. The Party Rock House

**MARKUS X'S POV**

Myself and the others had one last day before dealing with the influx of trick or treaters, and as such, we felt that all of us deserved one last night to enjoy ourselves. So, not having anything else to do, we loaded into Parsek's minivan and headed down to the local club.

Like usual, Johnny Cage was there to greet us. "Hey, glad you guys could make it! This joint's one of the better clubs around here. I took Sonya here once, but she kicked the ass of a drunk guy who tried to hit on her."

I rolled my eyes... Just what we needed: another hangout full of drunk guys who'd hit on a piece of meat if they thought it would put it on them. However, I didn't forget what happened to the last guy that tried to mess with Mileena.

All of us were dressed in our kombat attire, our 'kostumes,' so to say, when we hit the front of the building. I already heard the bass coming through the polycarbonate windows, and we hasn't even entered yet! The outside looked like the place had been a movie theater at one time, the unpainted rust marks of an old sign barely discernible behind the new one.

The bouncer, a somewhat stereotypical dark-skinned man with muscles and height, stopped us at the front of the building. "Name and ID?"

I pulled out my wallet and identification, showing him that I was Markus X. Opening the barricade, I took a step forward before stopping. "I'll wait for the rest of my friends to get through."

"Suit yourself..." The man returned to checking the IDs of Parsek and Johnny Cage before stopping at Raiden. "Name and ID?"

The thunder god gave the man, shorter than him, an emotionless glare. "I am Raiden, God of Thunder."

The bouncer tried as hard as he possibly could to not laugh, and just before he was about to crack, Johnny stepped over to him.

"Man, he and the others are with me, kay? My word's as good as any ID, especially in regards to Ray-man over here."

The divine being gave a nod to the Hollywood actor. "It would seem that your time training in Seido was not as wasted as I had hoped. Thank you, Johnny Cage."

"Don't mention it... One hitch though. You and Atraya have gotta hit the dance floor."

Without even a single expression, Raiden responded. "Very well. I accept your terms."

The pompous actor smiled, taking his sunglasses off. "Alright then. Let's go!"

* * *

**MILEENA'S POV**

I was so glad that we had finally gone somewhere where I and the others could truly mingle... And at a kostume party, no less! A sign out front stated that a contest would be occurring between eleven and twelve that evening.

"Markus, what time is it?"

"A little after nine. Why do you ask?"

"I want to compete in the Kostume contest!"

My boyfriend couldn't help but smile. "I have no doubts that you could win that competition, but we've got some time to kill first. Care to dance?"

I nodded as the two of us hit the floor, already covered by dozens upon dozens of half-drunk costume-wearing people of both genders. We were followed by Raiden and Atraya, due to the deal the thunder god had made with that actor, Johnny Cage.

As we stood there, a collection of highly distorted noises began to play, which my mind deciphered as a very complex rhythm. Not knowing what to do, I watched Markus as he began to dance to the beat. His movements looked like his attempt to emulate all of the Earthrealm warriors' fighting styles, but in a fluid-like way.

As he did so, I leaned back and ran into someone, a guy with spiked brown hair and a t-shirt that had its sleeves ripped off. Turning to me, he gave a smug smile. "Well, what sort of sexy lady have we got here?"

I gave him a sinister glint from my yellow eyes. "Not today, baby. I like my guys to have more brain cells than an average party-goer."

He laughed. "Well, lucky for you, I'm top of my class."

"Depends, are we talking drinking?" Markus returned from his foray on the dance floor. "I have a friend of mine who I guarantee can drink you under the table."

"Fat chance..."

"Suit yourself... Skarlet!"

My barely-clad bodyguard stepped up to me. "What do you need?"

I motioned to Markus as he answered her. "This dude thinks that you can't outdrink him."

I saw her eyes give an evil shudder as she looked the young man over. He was gawking at her minimal attire, not exactly surprising as he tried to make a response.

"You sure you want to do this? I'd hate to see a hot one like yourself on the ground vomiting her stomach up..."

In response, she slapped him and grabbed the half-full glass of strong beer from him, ripping her mask off as she drank ever last drop. I had yet to see any reaction from her.

"Bartender! We need you to keep these drinks coming!"

* * *

**PARSEK'S POV**

I'd broken away from the group to mingle with some of the newer clubbers. All of them were in costumes, some obvious, and some not so much...

Looking through the crowd of people, I saw a girl who was alone. She had skin that appeared somewhat pale, as well as a streak of white dyed in her hair. Her attire was tight, minimalistic, and leather.

Reaching to the bar, I got a couple of vodka shots and stepped over to her. "You seem a bit lonely around here... Mind if I give you some company?"

The girl paused before giving me a small smile. "Sure... I'm new here, so I could use a friend or two."

I gave her a nod and an open hand. "Name's Parsek."

The young woman took my hand and gave it a firm squeeze. "Sareena. Nice to meet you."

I was about to mention how the pleasure was all mine, when I heard a yell over by the bar. With Sareena in tow, I came across a surprising sight.

On the floor was a man, I assumed in his twenties, coughing and spasming at the amount of liquor he had to consume. Standing victoriously at the bar, however, was Skarlet, guzzling down a large bottle of Jack Daniels like it was water before throwing it behind her, the glass shattering against a wall.

"It doesn't bother me..."

Markus couldn't help but smile at Skarlet. She was the most resistant to alcohol woman I'd ever met, magical or otherwise. When Markus's gaze shifted to Sareena, though, he raised an eyebrow.

"Hey... Don't I know you from somewhere before?"

My new friend gave a fidgety smile to my old one. "You do, but let's wait until we leave before talking anymore about this. I'd rather not send everyone into a panic right now."

I didn't know of any history between Sareena and Markus, but it was only inevitable that I would hear an earful from the both of them when we left. There were plenty of things that Markus had experienced during his time in Outworld that I didn't know about...


	7. The Trick-Or-Treaters

**SAREENA'S POV**

Markus was gracious enough to let me stay at his already crowded house. It felt strange, being given food and residence by a former foe, but it was a better option than returning to my sisters.

Sitting down on the couch, I chose to finally reveal my identity to the Earthrealmer, pulling out a blade I knew he would recognize quite well. "I believe you claimed this as a trophy at one time?"

He stared at the Demon Fang for a short while before giving me an answer. "You're a demon. I can't kill you permanently, that I know... But it still doesn't explain what you're doing on my world."

"Quan Chi has sent us four to scout the area, in preparation for invasion, but truthfully, I came here to enjoy the Halloween festivities. As you said, this is the only time of the year I can come to Earthrealm in my ordinary attire."

I glanced over my skin. The markings that connected me to my sisters and the Brotherhood of Shadow were gone, though I still carried out Quan Chi's orders. "Perhaps my change in appearance made you slip up..."

He nodded, agreeing with me for now before scrunching his face into a confused look. "Don't they have contractions where you're from?"

"They do, but we rarely use them. If my master has to be so formal, why shouldn't I talk the same way?" The use of a contraction helped soften his demeanor.

Markus stood up and began to talk to himself. "What have I gotten myself into... We have two reptiles, a demon, my girlfriend and her blood-based bodyguard, the son of an undead ninja, and two beings with god-like power all under the same roof. I'm lucky you guys haven't torn my house down already..."

Fading out, I thought about the soulless shell that Noob Saibot, the man who had once shown mercy on me when he was alive. He cared not for love or affection anymore... Only for ruling the entirely of the Netherrealm, even if he had to eliminate all life there before doing such a thing. Despite his being a wraith, however, he was still my first love, and I found him hard to simply abandon to Quan Chi's employment.

And yet, as I listened to Markus ramble on about his woes, I found myself thinking about something as far away from spying as one could possibly get...

* * *

**MARKUS X'S POV**

Yes, it was late in the evening, but I had to try and regain some sort of normalcy in the house. As such, I dialed a number I was told never to call unless there was an absolute emergency...

"Sonya Blade here. What's the situation?"

"Well, where do I begin? My house is so full of kombatants that I'm afraid they're going to blow their cover in a big way. My bodyguards showed up, some wind god named Fujin showed up with some Shirai Ryu guy named Jubei Hasashi, and now, we have a demoness, or a female demon, or whatever you call her, sleeping on a pallet on the floor."

"Damn... You _are_ in a situation... I'll see what I can do. If you can keep everyone occupied for the evening, I think we can handle it tomorrow."

I shook my head as I hung up the phone. A whole night's worth of this? I guess we at least needed to find a way to waste some time when the trick-or-treaters came a running.

"Yo, Mileena! Skarlet! I hope you have those teeth sharpened, because we have some little kids to scare. I've tried everything I can think of to stop them from coming to my front door, but it won't work. Maybe you can pursuade them otherwise..."

"Very well..." My girlfriend's human-like mouth quickly shrouded itself in a purple haze, dissipating to reveal a pair of lovely Tarkatan teeth as she put her mask on.

* * *

**MILEENA'S POV**

Eyeing through the peephole, I spotted a pair of teenagers coming towards the door. Markus gave me a gentle shove as he looked for himself.

"The Johnson twins... These two do all sorts of stupid stuff, and their parents do jack to control them. Make them take a dump in their pants with how scary you'll be."

I nodded as he stepped back, the doorbell ringing. Instinctively, I opened it rather slowly to reveal a pair of white-armored young men.

"Hmm... Yo Chris, who's this chick?"

"Hell if I know, Andrew... She's smoking hot though."

"Yeah... Yo babe, mind giving us our candy so we can hit some more houses up?"

I silently smiled at them before giving them a sultry reply. "How about a kiss instead?"

The two hormonally-active youths looked at each other and nodded, taking their helmets off to reveal their true faces as they waited for the inevitable kiss. However, they would not receive what they wanted for so literally...

With their eyes closed, I removed my mask and pecked each of them lightly on the cheek. Right after I did so, they opened their eyes, getting a personal look at my painfully sharp teeth.

Then they screamed.

Running out of Markus's yard, they were stopped by a geyser of blood, out of which came Skarlet, weapons at the ready. "Why leave so soon? We've only just started the fun..."

Regardless of whichever way they turned, Skarlet and I were there to block their escape.

"OKAY, MARKUS! STOP THE CREEPY PRANK! YOU GOT EVEN WITH US!"

Slipping forward, I ran a finger underneath Andrew's jugular. "Oh, but this is no prank, Andrew... In fact, the only way this could be better is if I was able to finish you..."

Both brothers gulped, their eyes traveling to the crotchplate of their armor. "Oh God no..."

"...but unfortunately, my boyfriend forbids it. Now, leave this place and never return! Go!"

The twin brothers seemed almost relieved as they ran away from Markus's house as fast as their legs could take them.

* * *

**SKARLET'S POV**

Curiously enough, very few people came to our house. Perhaps our display with the Johnsons made almost everyone else take a hint. We went through the routine a few more times before the night ended and the influx of little kids trick-or-treating finally ended.

Curling up on my bed, relaxing as the soft and fuzzy covers wrapped around my body, I thought about the next logical step. Would we be getting answering machines? Everyone in Earthrealm had a phone, after all.

I turned to Raiden, his eyes still open. "Raiden, what now? With Halloween over, we've got nothing to do for the next few weeks!"

"Patience, Skarlet. I believe from what Markus has told me that you will be enjoying a gift of his very soon. Now please, go to bed. You wore yourself out guarding the property from little children dressed in costume."

Nodding, I closed my eyes and went to sleep. It would be a mighty fine few weeks...

* * *

_**So, that's it for this Misadventures fic... I'm considering doing a voicemail fic for each of the warriors staying at Parsek and Markus X's houses, so do look forward to that! As always, R&R, and check out my other fanfics! Cheers!**_


End file.
